Top lifting carton



ug 4, 1964 H. E. WEBB ETAL TOP LIFTING CARTON Filed Dec. l0, 1962 FIGA Y H mwa M www m WE. .n o A D R YL RO E am n H 8 M United States Patent O 3,143,272 T? LHTING CARTGN Harold Webb, Lyndon, and .larry D. Smith, Louisviiie,

Ky., assignors to General Electric Cempany, a corporation of New York Filed Dec. 10, 1962, Ser. No. 243,371 2 Claims. (Cl. 229-37) This invention relates to liber board shipping cartons, and more particularly to a one-piece top-lifting type of carton for shipping relatively heavy apparatus or appliances.

There is being used, in increasing numbers, for the shipping of appliances and the like, a regular one-piece slotted carton construction which has a special ap formed at the top to permit top-lifting of it during transportation thereof. The lifting is effected by insertion under the iiap of the vertically extending blades of a lift truck. Such a type of carton is, for example, fully described and claimed in Patent 2,990,996 issued on July 4, 1961, to Edward l. Powlenko, and assigned to General Electric Company, assignee of the present invention.

In the structures which have been used, the nap has been held down in the proper position (to permit lifting) either by the use of a steel strap extending horizontally around the carton near the top thereof, or else by the use of pressure sensitive tape extending only over the edges of the flap so as to hold the ap down. lt is highly desirable to provide means Where the correct placement of a tape or strap by the operator is not critical, as is presently the case, and wherein the iiap is held down by a simple readily assembled structure which is also economical to manufacture.

It is, therefore, an object of our invention to provide a suitable holding-down means for the lifting flap of a one-piece top lifting carton which meets the foregoing criteria.

A more specific object of our invention is to provide the desired result by a holding structure including rigid parts, one inside the carton and one outside at least part of the flap, which may easily be interlocked through suitable openings so as to hold the flap down.

Thus, for instance, in carrying out our invention in one form thereof, we provide a top lifting fiber board carton which is formed of a single substantially rectangular sheet of fiber board, in the same manner as a regular slotted carton. The sheet is provided, in the usual way, with first, second and third longitudinally extending substantially parallel sections: the iirst section forms the bottom of the carton; the second section is appropriately creased to form the four side panels; and the third section is transversely cut to form four flaps for the top of the carton, each ilap being joined to and substantially coextensive with the side panels along the upper edge of the panel. The flaps are, at least in part, bent in over the side panels into a plane generally perpendicular thereto, and are se cured together in that piane so as to form a top for the carton.

On at least one of the liaps, two creases are formed substantially parallel to the junction line between the flap and the side panel to which it is joined, thereby dividing that iiap into three portions. The first portion, which is adjacent the junction line, is bent downwardly outside of the side panel; the second portion, which is adjacent the rst portion, is bent back upwardly and reaches approximately back to the junction line; and the third portion constitutes that part of the ilap which is bent in over the side panels and is secured to the other flaps.

The one side panel which is adjacent the creased flap has openings provided adjacent its top corners, and the rst portion of the iiap also has openings formed therein ice so that when the irst portion is in the position described its openings are aligned with those of the side panel to form pairs of aligned openings. Rigid securing parts are respectively associated with the pairs of aligned openings. The securing parts are provided in pairs, with the rst of each pair being positioned against the inner surface of the side panel and the second of each pair being positioned against the outer surface of the first iiap portion. The two parts of each pair are lockingly engaged to each other through one of the pairs of aligned openings. The iirst flap portion is thus held down against the side panel adjacent its ends, as is necessary in order to provide proper support for lifting the carton.

The subject matter which we regard as our invention is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of this specification. Our invention, however, together with further objects and advantages thereof, will best be understood from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing,

FIGURE l is a plan view of a fiber board body or blank for forming the top lifting carton of our invention;

FIGURE 2 is a view in perspective of an assembled carton, partly in cross-section and partly cut away iu order to show details;

FIGURE 3 is an exploded view in perspective of one embodiment of the securing means forming an important part of our invention;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged fragmentary view in perspective showing the positioning of the parts during the first assembly step;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged fragmentary view in perspective showing the positioning of the parts during a second assembly step;

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged fragmentary view in perspective showing the positioning of the parts when the assembly of the securing means has been completed;

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary view showing two of our improved cartons being lifted by an industrial lift truck; and

FIGURE 8 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevational View illustrating a second embodiment of our invention.

Referring now to FIGURE 1, there is shown therein a substantially rectangular fiber board body or blank for forming our top lifting carton. Blank 1 is preferably formed from a sheet of single-wall double-spaced corrugated ber board, that is, a fiber board having inside and outside plane surfaces which are joined by means of a corrugated or undulating sheet disposed between them. This type of fiber board, known as corrugated fiber board, is commercially available and is Widely used in the manufacture of shipping cartons and the like.

Blank 1 is divided by crease lines 2 and 3 into three sections 4, 5 and 6 extending longitudinally of the blank, substantially in parallel relation to each other. Section 4 is provided with slits or cuts 7, 8 and 9 which divide section 4 into four iiaps 10, 11, 12 and 13. The center section 5 has crease lines 14, 15 and 16 which divide section 5 into four side panels 17, 18, 19 and 20. Section 6 is similar to section 4 in that it has transverse slots or cuts 21, 22 and 23 which divide section 6 into flaps 24, 25, 26 and 27, substantially coextensive with panels 17, 18, 19 and 2.0 respectively along junction line 2. In addition, each of the flaps 24, 25, 26 and 27 is provided with two creases 23 and 29 which are substantially parallel to each other and to crease 2, and which divide Hap 24 into three parallel portions 39, 31 and 32. As will appear more clearly herebelow, the invention requires only that creases 28 and 29 be provided in one of the four flaps 24, 25, 26 and 27. However, normally in manufacturing processes the carton creases are formed by running the rectangular blank through a machine which provides creases the full length of the blank. Therefore, in practice, it would generally occur that all four of the flaps 24, 25, 26 and 27 will be provided with creases such as 2d and 29, although they lwill not all necessarily be used in the manner to be described herebelow.

The carton is formed by folding the blank along crease lines 14, and 15 so that side panels 17, 13, 19 and 2G form a generally cubical enclosure. and 34 of blank 1 are then secured together by any appropriate means such as suitable heavy duty tape 35 (FIGURE 2). The four bottom ilaps 10, 11, 12 and 13 are then bent inwardly so as to overlap each other. Preferably, the dimensions of flaps 10, 11, 12 and 13 are such as to cause the bottom of the carton to be completely covered so as to form a closure at that end, although this is not an essential part of our invention. The aps are then secured, as by gluing or stapling. Conventionally, a pair of opposite aps such as 10 and 12 is folded in rst, and then the other pair of opposite ilaps 11 and 13 is folded over aps 10 and 12 and glued to them so as to form a rigid base for the carton. However, the precise manner of forming the bottom of the carton is not the prime point of the invention, and the foregoing description is provided merely for purposes of illustration.

Portion 3l) of ilap 24 is bent down outside side panel 17 as shown. Portion 31 is then bent upwardly from crease line 28 so that it extends back up, reaching approximately to the line 2 which forms the junction line between flap 24 and panel 17. The third portion 32 of flap 17 is then bent in over the side panel into a plane which is substantially perpendicular to the panel. Flap 26 is then bent into the same plane toward flap 24. As shown, with the construction provided the two flaps 24 and 26 may not meet each other and there will then be a space left between them; however, it will be clear that if so desired, the length of each of the aps 24 and 26 may be made sufficiently great for the aps to meet notwithstanding the fact that portions 3) and 31 of flap 24 are used to form a liange extending down outside panel 17.

The other pair of opposing aps 25 and 27 is then bent in over the side panels into Ysubstantially the same plane so that they extend directly over the flaps 24 and 26. As shown, the length of flaps 25 and 27 is preferably such that they meet in abutting relation at the center, thereby entirely covering the space between the'side panels and forming a closure for the carton. The four aps 24, 25, 26 and 27 are then secured together by any preferred means such as, for instance, stapling, gluing or both in the conventional manner of regular slotted cartons.

In order for the iiange formed by portions 3) and 31 to perform its intended purpose, i.e., providing a means of lifting the carton, it is necessary that the flange be held down in such a way that it will not bend excessively away from its downwardly extending position, yet so that the retention is provided at a minimum of expense without any danger that tearing will occur. As a rst step toward achievement of this structure, the portion 3@ is provided with openings 36 and 37 (FIGURE 1), and side panel 17 is provided adjacent its top corners with openings 38 and 39. When portion 30 is folded down against the outside of side panel 17, as described, openings 36 and 38 are aligned with each other, that is, they form a pairof aligned openings. The same is true of openings 37 and 39. This relationship o'f the openings is shown, for instance, in FIGURE 4.

Referring now to FIGURE 3, there are shown the two parts 40 and 41 which form the securing means of our invention. Each of these is preferably formed of a rigid material such as, for instance, steel, and each of them may (as shown in particular connection with part 41) be dished, that is, slightly convex on the side that faces toward the other of the parts. Part 40 has formed therein,

The Itwo ends 33 A by any suitable means such as punching, a projection 42 which is T-shaped, with a top portion 43.

Part 41 has a T-shaped slot 44 with an upper part 45 of suicient width to receive part 43, and with a lower part 46 which is Wide enough to receive the part 47 of projection 42, but which prevents withdrawal of part 41B because part 43 of projection 42 is wider than the part 45 of slot 44. In the same operation in which the slot 44 is formed, small latching embossments 4S may be formed in part 41. To secure the two parts 4@ and 41, they are brought together, and portion 43 of projection 42 is passed through part 45 of slot 44. Then part 40 is moved downwardly with respect to part 41 (or part 41 is moved up) until the end 43 of projection 42 snaps over the embossments 48. Parts 40 and 41 are then locked into position relative to each other.

This explanation of the relationship of the two parts 4i) and 41, as shown in FlGURE 3, may best be understood by reference to FGURES 4, 5 and 6. In FIGURE 4 it can be seen that part 49 has been placed against the inner surface of side wall 17 in such a position that projection 42 extends through the aligned openings 36 and 38, and so that the end 43 of projection 42 actually extends beyond the openings. In FIGURE 5 part 41 has been positioned against the outer surface of ap portion 311 so that projection end 43 extends through the top 45 of slot 44 in member 41. In FIGURE 6 the parts 4t) and 41 have been moved transversely to each other in a vertical direction, so that projection 42 has moved down through part 46 of slot 44, with end 43 of projection 42 being forced over embossments 48 and thus locked beneath them at the bottom of slot 44.

With members 40 and 41 in this position then, as shown in FIGURE 6, ap portion 3G is securely held against side wall 17 by a simple and effective construction which is easily and quickly assembled and which is highly economical to manufacture. With flap 30 thus held at each end (another pair of parts 49 and 41 cooperate through openings 37 and 39), the top of the carton may be formed as shown in FIGURE 2. The carton is then entirely ready to be transported in the manner shown in FIGURE 7. A lift truck, partly schematically shown by the numeral 49, is provided with vertically extending blades 50 which are inserted beneath the flanges of the cartons so as to permit lifting one or more cartons in the manner shown. It will be seen that a neat appearance of the cartons is provided inasmuch as there is no external evidence of the manner in which the flange formed of flap portions 30 and 31 is held down, yet it is held down securely at its ends in such a manner as to permit lifting with a minimum risk of tearing of the carton.

It Will be understood that while a preferred construction for our securing means has been described, the particular shape may be varied. To illustrate this fact, a second embodiment of our invention is shown in FIGURE 8 wherein like parts are shown by like numerals. In

A FIGURE 8, a unitary member 51 of spring material is formed substantially as a U with two legs 52 and 53. During assembly, the part is placed over the top of the junction of side panel 17 and flap portion 3%. ln this position, leg 53 is adapted to be secured against the inside surface of panel 17, just as was part 4d in connection with the iirst embodiment, and leg 52 is positioned to be secured against the outer surface of iiap portion 30, just as was part 41 in the first embodiment. Legs 52 and 53 are provided respectively with hooking or locking members 54 and 55. In the normal unbiased position of member 51, as shown in dotted outline, there is no locking relationship of the parts 54 and 55. However, once the member 51 has been placed in position over the top of the junction of side panel 17 and ilap portion 30, it is then merely necessary to press the legs 52 and 53 toward each other until members 54 and 55 snap into locking relationship as shown.

it will further be apparent that a unitary member of spring material may be used wherein the two parts equivaient to parts 4i) and 41 may be connected together by a joining section extending through the aligned openings, and that this will function in the same way as the above described embodiments. Such a structure could be locked in position by appropriate movement within the openings once it had been inserted through them.

While in accordance with the Patent Statutes we have described what at present are considered to be the preerred embodiments of our invention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modications may be made therein without departing from the invention, and we, therefore, aim in the appended claims to cover all such equivalent variations as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. A carton formed of a single substantially rectangular sheet of iber board, said sheet having rst, second and third longitudinally extending substantially parallel sections; said iirst section being creased and secured to form the bottom; said second section being creased to form four side panels; said third section being transversely cut to form four aps each joined to and substantially coextensive with the side panel along the upper edge of said side panel, each of said aps having at least a part thereof bent in over said side panels into a plane substantially perpendicular thereto, said parts of said flaps being secured together to form a top, at least one of said aps having two creases both formed substantially parallel to the junction line between said one ap and the one side panel to which it is joined so as to divide said one flap into three portions, the rst of said portions adjacent said junction line being bent downwardly outside the side panel to which said one flap is joined, the second of said portions adjacent said first portion being bent upwardly and reaching approximately back to said junction line, the third of said portions constituting the part of said one flap which is bent in over said side panels into a plane substantially perpendicular thereto, said one side panel having openings formed therein adjacent its top corners, said rst portion having openings formed therein adjacent its ends, said panel openings being respectively aligned with said first portion openings to form pairs of aligned openings; and pairs of rigid securing parts associated respectively with said pairs of aligned openings; the rst part of each pair being positioned against the inner surface of said side panel, the second part of each pair being positioned against the outer surface of one of said flap portions, the two parts of each pair being secured to each other through one of said pairs of aligned openings, both parts of each pair being separate and formed of substantially dat material, one part of each pair having a projection formed to extend through the pair of aligned openings, the other part of each pair having a slot formed therein to receive said projection, said other part being formed so that said projection is locked in said slot by movement of one of said parts relative to the other.

2. The structure dened in claim l wherein said slot is substantially T-shaped, said projection being inserted into said T-shaped slot at the top of said T, said locking being effected by movement of said projection down through said slot toward the bottom of said T.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,063,845 weiss rune 3, 1913 1,104,234 weiss Jury 21, 1914 1,132,292 weiss Mar. 16, 1915 1,815,565 H111 et a1. July 21, 1931 2,004,197 Erhridge June 11, 1935 2,279,233 Groves Apr. 7, 1942 2,990,996 Powienka July 4, 1961 

1. A CARTON FORMED OF A SINGLE SUBSTANTIALLY RECTANGULAR SHEET OF FIBER BOARD, SAID SHEET HAVING FIRST, SECOND AND THIRD LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL SECTIONS; SAID FIRST SECTION BEING CREASED AND SECURED TO FORM THE BOTTOM; SAID SECOND SECTION BEING CREASED TO FORM FOUR SIDE PANELS; SAID THIRD SECTION BEING TRANSVERSELY CUT TO FORM FOUR FLAPS EACH JOINED TO AND SUBSTANTIALLY COEXTENSIVE WITH THE SIDE PANEL ALONG THE UPPER EDGE OF SAID SAID PANEL, EACH OF SAID FLAPS HAVING AT LEAST A PART THEREOF BENT IN OVER SAID SIDE PANELS INTO A PLANE SUBSTANTIALLY PERPENDICULAR THERETO, SAID PARTS OF SAID FLAPS BEING SECURED TOGETHER TO FORM A TOP, AT LEAST ONE OF SAID FLAPS HAVING TWO CREASES BOTH FORMED SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO THE JUNCTION LINE BETWEEN SAID ONE FLAP AND THE ONE SIDE PANEL TO WHICH IT IS JOINED SO AS TO DIVIDE SAID ONE FLAP INTO THREE PORTIONS, THE FIRST OF SAID PORTIONS ADJACENT SAID JUNCTION LINE BEING BENT DOWNWARDLY OUTSIDE THE SIDE PANEL TO WHICH SAID ONE FLAP IS JOINED, THE SECOND OF SAID PORTIONS ADJACENT SAID FIRST PORTION BEING BENT UPWARDLY AND REACHING APPROXIMATELY BACK TO SAID JUNCTION LINE, THE THIRD OF SAID PORTIONS CONSTITUTING THE PART OF SAID ONE FLAP WHICH IS BENT IN OVER SAID SIDE PANELS INTO A PLANE SUBSTANTIALLY PERPENDICULAR THERETO, SAID ONE SIDE PANEL HAVING OPENINGS FORMED THEREIN ADJACENT ITS TOP CORNERS, SAID FIRST PORTION HAVING OPENINGS FORMED THEREIN ADJACENT ITS ENDS, SAID PANEL OPENINGS BEING RESPECTIVELY ALIGNED WITH SAID FIRST PORTION OPENINGS TO FORM PAIRS OF ALIGNED OPENINGS; AND PAIRS OF RIGID SECURING PARTS ASSOCIATED RESPECTIVELY WITH SAID PAIRS OF ALIGNED OPENINGS; THE FIRST PART OF EACH PAIR BEING POSITIONED AGAINST THE INNER SURFACE OF SAID SIDE PANEL, THE SECOND PART OF EACH PAIR BEING POSITIONED AGAINST THE OUTER SURFACE OF ONE OF SAID FLAP PORTIONS, THE TWO PARTS OF EACH PAIR BEING SECURED TO EACH OTHER THROUGH ONE OF SAID PAIRS OF ALIGNED OPENINGS, BOTH PARTS OF EACH PAIR BEING SEPARATE AND FORMED OF SUBSTANTIALLY FLAT MATERIAL, ONE PART OF EACH PAIR HAVING A PROJECTION FORMED TO EXTEND THROUGH THE PAIR OF ALIGNED OPENINGS, THE OTHER PART OF EACH PAIR HAVING A SLOT FORMED THEREIN TO RECEIVE SAID PROJECTION, SAID OTHER PART BEING FORMED SO THAT SAID PROJECTION IS LOCKED IN SAID SLOT BY MOVEMENT OF ONE OF SAID PARTS RELATIVE TO THE OTHER. 